What does your 17month (ish) do in the day at home

[notnow2]

Dd doesn't really settle to anything - she messes with her brothers games - plays with the buttons on the tv, empties drawers, climb on the sofa, pushes DVDs off the shelf. I try and do wooden puzzles with her but she quickly loses interest - same with crayons/chalks, books she settles down for longer with but generally she just wanders around causing chaos and I now just let her but feel I am being crap. We go to playgroup 2 mornings a week, do 4 school runs a day, go to the park when it is not too cold/ raining and sometimes soft play. She is at nursery 2 full days a week. She is happy out and about but seems frantic, chaotic at home.

[notnow2]

Not really worried just exhausted. See other toddlers sitting for half an hour or so looking at 1 toy but not her - a quick look and she is off. I have to take her to a swimming lesson for my ds 1 and 2 and other toddlers sit on their parents lap nicely - I have to spend an hour stopping her get into the pool/ crack her head whilst running and slipping

[fififrog]

My DD is nearly 2 and she has a very low boredom threshold. I just leap on whatever she does seem to show interest in. For the last six months playdoh has (almost) reliably kept her entertained for about half an hour. I am fortunate that she loves books. Can usually spend up to an hour reading. Doing tea parties for her animals was another popular one a few months back, especially if real water involved. She used to enjoy scribbling colouring but generally now only seems satisfied by paint which we don't do often. Now she's a bit older she can be kept entertained with a Melissa and doug reusable sticker pad and then we look all the animals up in the animal encyclopaedia or on the web. She was REALLY into puzzles for about four months but sadly suddenly went off them just as I'd bought her some really nice new ones she chose herself. Sigh.

I feel for you, it's knackering (and often, frankly boring) even when DD was 4 months old she was a restless thing, my friend's babies sat quietly in the pushchair while mum enjoyed a coffee - not DD, no sireee!

[silverangel]

DTs are 19 months and pretty much the same - they climb the furniture, empty drawers / shelves etc. They're not interested in crayons and pens yet - they still prefer to eat them. I have just bought a load of play doh and they did play with that for about half an hour which was nothing short of a miracle. They have also started recently to play with their 'babies' in their buggies and push them up and down endlessley.

I can't wait for summer so I can just open the doors and they can get out in the garden!

[Misty9]

My 18mo ds is the same. The only thing he'll sit still for is peppa pig... I try to do craft/messy things but he's usually not interested. He likes playing with his happyland stuff and this can entertain him for 10-15mins. He loves playing with balls (or he did) but his favourite current activity is pushing one of his many toys around (shopping trolley, walker, pushchair, wheelybug etc) which isn't the most helpful activity when we've just moved house and there are boxes everywhere!
Bring on the warmer weather.

[NapaCab]

Glad to see I'm not the only one with a hyperactive 17 month old destroying their house every day. My DS's daily activities when we're at home are:

Pull all the DVDs off the bookshelves and mess with them
Pull all the cookbooks off the middle bookshelf and flick through them as he likes the pictures
Ransack the kitchen drawers
Ransack our closets and his own drawers in his bedroom
Throw his toys around, maybe play with them for about 10-15 minutes when he's in the mood
Climb on the sofa, the tables, the chairs and anywhere else that works
Gnaw endlessly on various (child-safe, obviously) objects he's found
Flick through magazines and his picture books, rip up waste paper
Throw things downstairs from the landing - bath towels, toys, balls, shoes etc

That's about it. He's also the hyperactive one when we go to classes and has to be on the move all the time. He won't sit still or sit on my lap ever. I've just accepted now that people will think I'm a bad parent and don't even bother doing the 'loud parenting' thing anymore. He's going to do what he does not matter what I say. I'm just tired out from keeping up with him...

[roz1982]

haha napacab! your post just really made me laugh.

Dont worry OP my 16 month old ds is exactly the same. He is absolutely non stop exhausting, wont stop for more than one minute all day long! One thing that does sometimes keep him occupied for slightly longer is standing on a little wooden stool at the kitchen counter playing (wrecking) with the cd player/microwave/sink/dustbuster/various articles on counter tops, under supervision of course!

books are the only other thing really that keeps him occupied for longer. he loves books. I think its just an age thing! everythings so exciting and new isnt it! why waste time on one thing when theres so many other things to point at throw around and break! You cant force kids to be interested in something, they are gonna do what they damn well please at that age!

[grabaspoon]

Im a nanny so mine do as i don't need to do housework its all about having fun

7-9 At home, breakfast, get dressed, free play - wooden animals, happy land, babies,
9-10.30 Go for a walk or potter in the garden. Play on swing, potter about in the Wendy house, do some digging, play with toys;pram/dolls, diggers, ride ons etc
1030-11 Snack time
11 Arts and crafts - painting, sticking etc. Maybe sensory play.
12 Lunch
1-2 Sleep
3-4 Playdate with friend
4.30 Garden time again
5 Tea time

Generally they potter and play :-)

[Mrs3chins]

I've been tearing my hair out this morning over the exact same thing! My 16 month old DS is into everything and the house is a constant disaster zone. I'm wondering whether I've messed him up already by not being strict enough and that I'm going to end up with a naughty child. I've started to say no a lot more but he doesn't listen to a word I say. Everyone else's children seem so calm and obedient in comparison!

[strawberrie]

So pleased it isn't just mine. My 19 month old son is a walking wrecking ball; his favourite activity at the moment is climbing onto a stool and lobbing all the cutlery out of the cutlery drawer. He will occaisonally settle with happy land or his vehicles and play for 10-15 minutes but not often, and not on request (ie when it would suit me to cook/sort laundry). I find the only way I can keep him occupied is to give him some kind of 'destructive' task ie a big box of cookie cutters to tip out and scatter.

I'm sure my DD wasn't like this, but it may be a bit of faded memories, or that fact I only had her to deal with at the time.

Oh and we haven't even begun to discuss the red-faced, screeching, face-down-on-the-floor meltdowns when he is thwarted, ie I have removed the sharp scissors from him.

[tory79]

I swear ds (18m) wakes up and just thinks right, what can I throw today And the answer to that is apparently ANYTHING I CAN PICK UP. The dining table/mantle shelf/any higher ground is generally covered in toys I have taken off him for throwing, doesn't make a blind bit of difference though. I feel like I spend my days just saying no. Its rubbish. Lucky for him he is so ridiculously cute!